Question

Expression of a cloned eukaryotic gene in a bacterial cell involves many challenges. The use of mRNA and reverse transcriptase is part of a strategy to solve the problem of

(A) post-transcriptional processing.

(B) post-translational processing.

(C) nucleic acid hybridization.

(D) restriction fragment ligation.

Short answer

(A) The option “post-transcriptional processing” is true.

(B) The option “post-translational processing” is false.

(C) The option “nucleic acid hybridization” is false.

(D)The option “restriction fragment ligation” is false.

Step-by-step solution

Step 1: Gene

Genes are the basic fundamental units of heredity. Some genes are also expressed in the form of protein that is the main ingredient of the structure and function of an organism.

Many genes do not express in any protein; these genes are called introns. Coding genes are known as exons. All introns and exons make a genome of an organism.

Explanation of option ‘(A)’

In a bacterial cell, eukaryotic genes do not express due to introns because it lacks a mechanism of post-transcriptional processing that removes introns. So a complimentary copy of mRNA of eukaryotic gene produced by reverse transcriptase is expressed in a bacterial cell because it does not contain introns.

Thus, post-transcription processing is not found in the bacterial cell that is the hurdle in the expression of the eukaryotic gene in a bacterial cell.

Therefore, the given option is true.

Explanation of option ‘(B)’

Post-translational processing is not a hurdle in the expression of the eukaryotic gene into a bacterial cell because bacteria have some amounts of protein modification. The proteins that do not require modification of their genes can be expressed in a bacterial cell.

Thus,post-translational processing does not involve mRNA and transcriptase to express a eukaryotic gene in a bacterial cell.

Therefore, the given option is false.

Explanation of option ‘(C)’

Expression of the eukaryotic gene into a bacterial cell will need introns free genes that require an mRNA and reverse transcriptase to produce a cDNA.

Thus, nucleic acid hybridization is not a hurdle in the expression of eukaryotic gene in bacterial cell.

Therefore, the given statement is false.

Explanation of option ‘(D)’

Restriction fragment ligation is the process that is used in DNA technology for the cloning of genes of both types of organisms that are eukaryotes and prokaryotes.

Thus, restriction fragment ligation can be done in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes.

Therefore, the given statement is false.